National joy for
MONTHS of self-sacrifice and a rigid devotion to training were finally put to the test at the National Masters Indoor Track Championships which took place on Sunday in Athlone AIT.
Their were some great performances from Drogheda & District athletes and none more so than Mary Leech and Yasmin Canning who both took national titles.
Canning in particular had a great day at the office when picking up a silver medal in her W3 800m race. It turned out to be a very tactical affair and she kept a cool head where others might have perished.
Canning had literally crossed the line when she heard the officials calling out the start list for her W3 400m event which had been moved forward.
The mark of a good athlete is rising to the occasion and Canning wasn’t found wanting as she quickly composed herself and got down to the job in hand.
Once the gun went, Canning let her legs do the talking and powered round the final bend with just enough in the tank to claim her first national title in a time of 70.91 seconds.
Training partner Leech also secured a national gold medal with a classy performance in her W2 1500m event which demanded great concentration and tactical awareness as this turned out to be a slow-run race.
Kieran McGrath did a double of sorts when taking silver in his M2 800m in a fast 2:01:03 and later in the day claimed a bronze medal in his 400m event with a time of 54.19.
Mags Nugent has made a remarkable return to racing and she produced the goods when it mattered to run her W1 800m in a fast 2:29:81 which got her the silver medal.
Also getting silver in his M4 1500m was Robbie Maher who ran 4:32:40 when just losing out in a great tussle with Cathal McLoughlin from Derry who’s a real quality athlete.
Running in the longest event of the day, the 3,000m, Pat O’Grady - who’s returning from injury - picked up a silver medal in his M5 category in a time of 10:28:11.
Paul Smith took a good 10 seconds of his fastest time this year when finishing ninth in his M2 event in 9:42:42, while Fintan Maher ran a sparkling time of 2:08:56 when finishing fifth in his 800m race, getting a new PB time along the way.
In the shortest event of the day, the 60m, local firefighter Karl Carton’s feet were on fire as he scorched up the track in just 7.93 seconds and held good form to cross the line in third place to nab the bronze medal.
A few hours later, Carton went close but not close enough when finishing fourth in his 200m event in 26.29 against some quality athletes.
In the Women’s 200m, Andrea McCabe was sixth in her event in 32.83, while Barbara O’Donnell was seventh in her W2 race in 32.57.
Sprint group coach Gerry O’Connor was unlucky not to medal when finishing fourth in his 400m event in 61.14, while Hugh Callan finished fifth in his M1 race in a useful 54.89.
Paul Stuart shows real promise as an athlete and he placed seventh in his 400m in 57.89.
Mixing it with some of the best juvenile athletes that Ireland has to offer over the weekend were Tadgh Donnelly and Oliver Clutterbuck. Both of these lads were racing in the All-Ireland Schools Cross-Country Championships which were took place last Saturday in Waterford.
The course itself could only be described as a mudbath and made getting round this tricky lap without falling a bit of a lottery. Nevertheless, both Donnelly and Clutterbuck in particular gave it their all, with Clutterbuck finishing well up the field in 45th place in the Junior Boys race.
The experience gained by this pair can only stand to them in the future as it’s all about the learning that takes place in Championship events.
Meanwhile, on Sunday in Athlone Sophie Kinsella and Phillip Reynolds made their debuts at the Leinster Championships in the indoor arena, both showing they are ones to watch for the future when running well in their U-13 600m events and gaining some invaluable championship experiences in the process.
The running boom is back with a bang if Sunday’s Bohermeen Half Marathon and 10K road races are anything to go by. This small, rural-based club managed to attract more than 1,700 runners to take part in two very well-organised events.
In the first race of the day, the 10K, Ruaidhri Nolan pushed hard and fast from the gun to finish 10th overall in a solid 36:05, leaving former Olympian Catherina McKiernan in his wake.
Frank McCarthy used this race to sharpen up for next month’s Berlin Half-Marathon and showed that all is well by finishing second in his category in 47:44, not bad going for a 62-year-old. The ever-present Nuala Reilly delivered a strong run to win her category in 46:42.
Also running were Gillian Fitzpatrick who ran the distance in 49:17 and Trish Stuart who finished in 1:00:54.
The Half-Marathon runners had to complete the 10K course twice and then do a bit more, but it didn’t put off the in excess of 1,400 runners who stood on the start line.
D&D’s first finisher was Des Feeley who’s come back to run with the club and he ran a very solid 1:28:59 when finishing 178th